Mixed greens make the best salad, and it is easy to have an assortment: leaf or Boston lettuce, iceberg lettuce, Bibb lettuce, salad-bowl lettuce, chicory, endive, romaine.
Tear them up, making sure that they are well washed, dried, and crisped.
Mix the dressing in a jar and shake it well.
Pour over just enough to coat each piece of greens, with no leftover pool of dressing in the bottom of the bowl.
Toss the salad well, until it barely begins to wilt a bit.
As the French describe it, the salad should "se fatigue."